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Thursday, April 15, 2010

Vietnamese Coffee Jello

I know half of you, dear readers, are thinking "Ewww!" And the other half are intrigued...

I was intrigued when I read this recipe at The Food Librarian yesterday. I was so intrigued in fact that I had to run to Kroger to get some sweetened condensed milk so I could try this right away.

I threw this Vietnamese Coffee-inspired Jello together in about 15 minutes yesterday evening, popped it in the fridge and eagerly waited for the gelatin to set. I had never even thought about making homemade Jello until my mother-in-law made those darling almond Jello eggs for Easter. Now I'm pondering all the different Jello options out there.

This Vietnamese Coffee Jello turned out pretty darn tasty, if you like coffee and gelatinous things. I found the overall coffee flavor to be pretty mellow and perfect. The sweetened condensed milk offered the ideal level of sweetness, in my opinion. I'll definitely consider making this recipe again sometime. I'd like to try making it with 2 packages of gelatin instead of the 3 called for in the recipe, to see if I prefer a slightly softer texture.

The Jello can be cut into the most perfect, smooth cubes and are sturdy enough to be picked up and eaten with your fingers. The Food Librarian referred to it as "finger jello," and I think that's a perfect name for it. These definitely offer a unique combination that could be quite a hit in the right crowd. Unfortunately I am the only coffee drinker around these parts, so I'm not sure I'll be able to finish off this entire batch before I get tired of Jello. We'll see...

Place 1/2 cup cold water in a medium bowl. Sprinkle 3 packages of unflavored gelatin over the water; stir to combine. Let this mixture set for about 10 minutes, until the gelatin blooms. Meanwhile, prepare 2 cups of strong coffee. (I used 8 tablespoons of ground coffee for 2 cups of water.)

Stir the hot coffee into the bloomed gelatin until the gelatin is completely dissolved.

Stir in the can of sweetened condensed milk.

Pour the combined jello mixture into an 8x8 pan (you could use a larger pan for thinner jello cubes). Place in the fridge for 2-4 hours, until gelatin is completely set.

Cut into 1-inch cubes and serve, or store in an air tight container in the refrigerator until ready to serve.

This does sound awesome. I made Vietnamese coffee popsicles and loved them. This is the same recipe but with gelatin and water added. yum.Here's my link if you want to take a peek:http://oneordinaryday.wordpress.com/2009/04/18/white-chocolate-mocha-popsicles/

I love you for posting this, I stumbled upon your blog and found this recipe, i made it just today and i want to say thanks because it is every coffee lovers dream, and crazy inexpensive to make! thanks!

My latest addiction is your fault. I made some of this when I first saw your recipe on taste spotting. . . and have made it three times since. It's all that I think about anymore! :-) And I use two packets of gelatin. You know, you don't really NEED the third.

these look nice, even though I never drink coffee (unless it's in tiramisu, but that's a different story ;)since you want to try different jello-related things, I thought I'd post this link for you here:http://victoriabelanger.wordpress.com/she has recipes and everything!

Not surprising it was called finger jell-o. that was my first thought when I saw it here. A friend at work used to make finger jell-o, but she made it in layers of different jell-o flavors, very thin layers, and between each colored layer was a layer of the sweetened milk layer. When you cut it into squared from the pan, it was so pretty to see all the rainbow laters!

Oh, yes, chai in this recipe is amazing! I followed the directions exactly, but I used 6 Tazo black chai teabags in the 2 cups of hot water. I had thought to use the concentrated chai they sell in boxes, but they are all sweetened. You also have to be careful about some of the teabag brands as some of them have sugar as well. I figured it would be too sweet to add that to the condensed milk. The unsweetened brewed chai came out perfectly with it! I made both chai and coffee and both are delicious. Thank again for posting the recipe!

this sounds to intriguing to miss.. I shall save the recipe and add gelatin to the shopping list. I have made coffee cake, icings, tiramisu, espresso brownies,and coffee creme brulee but coffee jello sounds that a very fun expiriment to try!

I know that I've already commented on this once, but I have to add, I've made this for a couple of my friends at work, and now they're making it for their friends and families. The reaction to this recipe is insanely positive from everyone who's tasted it.

This looks awesome. It would be perfect for the Food Science contest at Instructables.com! Check it out: http://www.instructables.com/contest/foodscience/ We're giving away a full sous vide set-up for projects like yours! I would be happy to feature your project once it's posted too. Best,Sarahsarah@Instructables.com

Just made this- It turned out perfectly and my husband loved it. I was gung ho to try a weird sounding recipe, and now not so excited to eat it. DH suggested maybe it would be well served with a graham cracker crust or cookie thing, maybe so whipped cream? Other suggestions?

I let my kids try (VERY SMALL) pieces of this and they liked it now I'm wondering how I could make it with hot chocolate. Any ideas? Also, how do you make your coffee strong? I see 8tbs. If I put 8tbs in my coffee pot I'd have a monster mess!! LOL :)

I used a French press to make the coffee for this jello, which allows you to play around with the ratio of coffee to water more freely than you can using a traditional coffee pot. I haven't tried it myself, but you could probably make a very strong batch of cold brewed coffee to use in this recipe. (In a large mason jar, glass, bowl, etc. combine the 8 tablespoons of coffee with the 2 cups of water and stir. Then let this mixture "brew" in the fridge for 8 hours or overnight.) You'll want to heat up your cold brew coffee before proceeding with the recipe.

Hello everyone- I have read the reactions to this treat and I made a few changes. My son just had all 4 wisdom teeth pulled and wanted something to eat that was a little different than regular jello. I loved this recipe, yet the sugar content in the condensed milk made me a little crazy. So I used a can of 2% evaporated milk (12 oz.) and made up the 2oz from the recipe with cream. It isn't that much, just 4 tablespoons. To sweeten I just added a scoop of sugar. I think it must be less sweet than the original version- yet still very tasty and more coffee flavor. Thanks for sharing! We love this!

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Hello there! My name is Amy. I'm a shy 27 year old who enjoys baking, jewelry designing, homemaking, and collecting makeup. I live in Lexington, Kentucky with my darling hubby and a couple of fluffy chinchillas.